World No. 1 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka claimed the US Open title in straight sets against Amanda Anisimova — the American who had stunned Iga Swiatek earlier in the tournament to reach her second Grand Slam final in just one Summer.
Aryna Sabalenka has commanded centre stage in women’s tennis since lifting her maiden Grand Slam at the 2023 Australian Open. Last year, she conquered New York for the first time, outlasting home favourite Coco Gauff to claim her US Open crown. And last night, she faced another American on Arthur Ashe — world No. 8 Amanda Anisimova, a player who had already proved capable of unsettling her at Wimbledon.
But the Belarusian clung fiercely to what mattered most: the title she had battled to defend in 2024 and targeted again in 2025. The opening set was all Sabalenka — power, precision and unrelenting pace that left Anisimova’s counterpunches ineffective. Yet there was a flicker of tension when the American broke to lead 3-2, raising the question of whether she might rattle the world No. 1. Sabalenka’s response was emphatic: she locked in, refocused and swept through the next four games to take the set 6-3, carrying her momentum seamlessly into the second.
At 1-1 in the second set, Arthur Ashe witnessed one of the exchanges of the night. Serving at 15-0, Anisimova pulled Sabalenka from corner to corner before attempting a drop shot. Sabalenka raced forward and answered with one of her own — slow, precise and devastatingly clever — a reminder that her game is not all power. She levelled the game to deuce, then broke the American’s serve to seize the upper hand.
On her next service point she punctuated the hold with a roar, a signal of intent that seemed to carry her all the way to the trophy. But the set refused to tilt easily. Leading 5-4, Sabalenka was broken back by a fearless sequence of two backhand winners from Anisimova, finished with a forehand strike that lit up the stadium. At 5-5, both held serve, and the match moved into a tie-break. There, Sabalenka’s focus sharpened. She swept past her opponent, sealing the title with a thunderous serve before dropping to her knees in tears of joy: she became champion once again in New York.
Amanda Anisimova’s tennis journey has been defined by resilience, hard work, and the pursuit of her dreams. Born in New Jersey to Russian parents, she endured her greatest hardship in 2019, losing her father at just 17 years old, shortly before the US Open. Even then, her mentality was to keep moving forward, supported by her mother, Olga. For the first time in Amanda’s career, Olga travelled to Wimbledon to see her compete on one of the sport’s grandest stages. Yet Amanda was unable to deliver a victory, or even a glimpse of the level she knows she can produce. After her 6-0, 6-0 loss to Iga Swiatek, she apologised to her mother, admitting: ‘my mom has put in more work than I have honestly’.
Disappointing one’s mother can become a powerful source of motivation. For Amanda Anisimova, her Wimbledon final defeat at just 24 seemed to provide exactly that spark. ‘I know I didn’t have enough today, but I’m going to keep putting in the work’ she said afterwards. And she did. At the US Open, she produced a rampant run, ousting Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek before falling to the world No. 1 powerhouse, Aryna Sabalenka. Anisimova’s resilience — her ability to rebound, fight and lift her game onto the sport’s grandest stages — has not gone unnoticed. Though this time she succumbed to a dominant champion, if she channels the level shown at Wimbledon and New York, 2026 could well be the year she claims her first Grand Slam title.
